Background/aims: The aim of this study was to examine a plausible correlation between venous and arterial blood gas values in acidotic patients with chronic uremia or diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). Methods: A total of 152 arterial and 152 venous blood samples from uremic patients (n = 100), DKA patients (n = 21) and healthy controls (n = 31) were analyzed for measurements of blood gas and acid-base status. Results: The means of arterial and venous pH, and arterial and venous HCO^–₃ values for the uremic patients were 7.17 ± 0.14, 7.13 ± 0.14, 10.13 ± 4.26 and 11.86 ± 4.23 mmol/l, respectively. The respective mean differences between arterial and venous pH values and arterial and venous HCO^–₃ values were 0.04 ± 0.02 and –1.72 ± 0.42 mmol/l, respectively, for these patients. The means of the laboratory findings of DKA patients were arterial pH, 7.15 ± 0.15; venous pH, 7.10 ± 0.15; arterial HCO^–₃, 8.57 ± 5.71 mmol/l and venous HCO^–₃, 10.46 ± 5.73 mmol/l. The respective mean differences between arterial and venous pH and arterial and venous HCO^–₃ for this group were calculated to be 0.05 ± 0.01 and –1.88 ± 0.41 mmol/l. In the healthy controls, the means of arterial and venous pH, and arterial and venous HCO^–₃ values were 7.39 ± 0.02, 7.34 ± 0.02, 24.91 ± 0.82 and 26.57 ± 0.83 mmol/l, respectively. For the healthy controls the mean differences between the respective values in arterial and venous pH, and arterial and venous HCO^–₃ were 0.05 ± 0.01 and –1.66 ± 0.58 mmol/l. Although in healthy controls the correlation between arterial and venous pH values (r²: 0.595) and arterial and venous HCO^–₃ values (r²: 0.552) were moderate, these correlations were significantly increased in both the acidotic patient group (r²: 0.979 and 0.990) and the DKA group (r²: 0.989 and 0.995) Conclusion: A venous blood sample can be used to evaluate the acid-base status in uremic and DKA patients.

The objective of this study is to define the etiological and demographical characteristics of the patients applying to the emergency department in Faculty of Medicine, Çukurova University because of poisoning. This retrospective study was carried out by examining the records of 491 people who applied to the main emergency department in Faculty of Medicine, Cukurova University, with the complaint of poisoning between January 1, 2004 and December 31, 2004. It was determined that the reason why 491 of 20 817 persons (2.4%) applied during this term was because of poisoning: 159 (32.4%) of such patients were male and 332 of them (67.6%) were female. It was found that the average age of men was 27.1 ± 10.5 years and that of women was 24.4 ± 9.5 years ( P = 0.005); 427 of poisoning cases (87.0%) happened intentionally as suicide attempts and 64 of them (13.0%) were accidental. The rate of suicide-purposed poisoning was higher in women and the rate of unintentional poisoning was higher in men ( P ± 0.001). The drugs were accountable for 71.1% of all poisoning cases and the pesticides were accountable for 18.9% of such cases. Poisonings increase during summers. The mortality rate in poisonings was found as 0.8%. The drugs and pesticides in Ckurova region constitute 90.0% of all poisoning cases. The mortality rate in poisoning will be decreased by training the physicians employed in the emergency department about poisoning by drugs and pesticides. Human & Experimental Toxicology ( 2007) 26, 401—406

Ecbalium elaterium, known as the wild or squirting cucumber, is a hairy perennial herbaceous vine of the Cucurbitaceae family, endemic to the Mediterranean region. All parts of the plant are toxic, particularly the gherkin-like fruits. It is frequently used in the treatment of sinusitis by nasal aspiration in some parts of the Mediterranean. The studies regarding to Ecbalium elaterium, argue that it has an anti-inflammatory characteristic. Two cases of uvular oedema have been ascribed to the undiluted use of this substance. Since they can threaten life, similar cases arising with the improper use of herbals should not be ignored in the emergency department. In this paper we present a life-threatening uvular angioedema caused by nasal aspiration of undiluted juice of squirting cucumber.

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Acute pancreatitis due to pancreatic exocrine over-secretion induced by organophosphate poisoning has been previously reported but parotid gland involvement has not. This paper describes a case of acute organophosphate-induced parotitis in a patient with pre-existing sialolithiasis. The patient developed bilateral facial swelling in the pre-auricular area extending to the angle of the jaw and also developed elevated serum amylase on the second day of the poisoning. Serum lipase remained normal. Autopsy confirmed parotid gland inflammation and pre-existing ductal lithiasis. This case illustrates that organophosphate-induced parotitis can occur and should be considered in patients with organophosphate poisoning who have hyperamylasemia without elevation in serum lipase.